Venice Team Set for National Science Championship

If you want to know the efficiency of an engine that produces 10,000 joules of heat while performing 2,500 joules of useful work, ask some of the students at Venice High School.

That question could be on the list of those asked at the National Science Bowl Championship beginning Sunday in Washington D.C. A team of five students from Venice High will compete in the national event--a science Super Bowl, of sorts.

The Science Bowl is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The winner will be the team that correctly answers the most questions related to biology, physics, earth science, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics and new technology. The contest concludes Monday.

David Dickinson, a junior, is captain of the Venice team. Noah Bray-Ali, a sophomore, and seniors Chris Mayor, Le Hoang and Candice Kamachi are the other members.

In February, the Venice team beat out 22 other Los Angeles Unified School District teams and nine teams from parochial schools to win the regional science bowl championship sponsored by the Department of Water and Power, along with Rockwell, Arco, Xerox and the Future Scientists and Engineers of America.

The Venice High whiz kids will be among 54 regional champions, eight from California. Arcadia High School has a team that won a regional science bowl sponsored by the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. Students from Arcadia High also will compete this weekend in Washington D.C.

Last year, Van Nuys High School won the DWP regional contest and went on to win the national championship. This year, Van Nuys placed second in the regional science bowl.